Need a new (old) car and an 85k one has popped up.
Not had an Audi before so is there anything I should be looking for/at when I view it?
Timing belt has been done and new turbo apparently.
Have you checked the MOT history on line to see if any advisories have been addressed?
May not have a DPF, a 15 year old car with 85k will have done fewer than 6000 miles per year on average-might have had a lot of short journeys so if it does have one may have had issues in the past?
Yep, pretty good MOT history. All been dealt with by the looks of it.
Good point about thd DPF, I'll look into it..
If it's the 140HP model there are two engines, the older 8v and newer 16v BRE. The newer one is more troublesome - two issues i had was the EGR cooler that leaks coolant into the cylinders and the bottom end has a fault with a gear for the oil pump and it destroys the bottom end.
Auto or manual? Seen a good few of these age VAG cars with juddery shifts between the lower gears. Other than that just a general good history of maintenance and it will treat you well. My dad had a 56 that he ran on to 312k miles
The indicator stalk. It’ll be the unused one to the left of the steering wheel
Had one of these and ran it from 78k to 165k. Clutch and flywheel goes at 100k. £800 to replace. Suspension and electrical gremlins appearEd around 150k. Otherwise routine maintenance and it drove like a dream.
I had one, for ten years, and 130k miles. Great car. Engine developed an issue (can't remember what exactly) and the local independent garage I use suggested I got rid.
RUST
Have a look through this thread on Audi Sport about Balance shaft issues before you buy an A4 2.0 tdi between 2004 and 2009 (B7)... I had a 2006 one which the BRE engine and never had the issue but many people did and it wasn’t a cheap repair job.
https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/2-0tdi-oil-pump-balancer-shaft-problems-the-definitive-guide-audi-vw-skoda-seat.140949/page-6
Son's mate has just got a 2.0 TDI S-Line A3. Interior hides the 200k miles very well, but it's got badly rusted wings and sils, and being red, the bonnet and rear bumper have pealed the laquer and need re-painting. Alloys are tatty too. That said it's nice inside, and it seems good mechanically so far.
Air con pump can fail. Random lock issues.
Been running a 2006 B7 A4 Avant 2.0T Special Edition (220bhp petrol) for the last few years
As already said get yourself on Audisport.net if your serious about a B7 A4
Certain diesels variants have known engine issues, other than that its just looking for the normal wear and tear, front wheel arches are known to rot if the car hasn't had full Audi service history as they pick it up when servicing (12 year anti rust warranty)
Led warning matrix in middle of instrument cluster known to fail. Common issue on various Audi’s of this age. Not a major issue but may lead to missing other issues if you can’t see them.
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/guess-the-damage-vag-tdi-cambelt/
Car died from crappy oil pump issue causing catastrophic engine failure in the end @ 230,000 miles. Look it up... balancer shaft and/or oil pump chain drive.
I’d try and find a 1.9tdi in BXE, not the newer ones just before the first 2.0tdis. Or a 2.0tdi after ~2008.